


Running

by Callester



Series: Moments of Comfort [1]
Category: Fruits Basket (Anime 2001), Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Alone, Couple, Drawing, Embrace, Escape, F/M, Forehead Kisses, Holding Hands, Hurt/Comfort, Running Away, beach, thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25890694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Callester/pseuds/Callester
Summary: Where there exists trouble that she tries to run away from, he becomes the reason for her to run back to.Two-shot.
Relationships: Sohma Hatsuharu/Sohma Rin
Series: Moments of Comfort [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941181
Kudos: 18





	1. Away

**_Running - Away_ ** _(Rin-centric)_

_“When everything ends and nothing is left in my hands, that’s alright.”_

* * *

The summer wind blows softly across the sandy surface of the beach, ruffling the dark loose strands of fringe from her ears in obedience to the breeze’s direction. Though that action alone causes her sight to be slightly disturbed from her sole focus on the rough draft on her sketchbook, her hands too had come to be accustomed to tugging away those strands back behind her ears from time to time. As much as her hair had reminded her of an unwanted memory from when it was carelessly cut off, she is simply contented to have them growing back to a length not too long as before. In occasions like beach visits, she would even take her time in styling them into a simple side braid to accommodate the course of the ever changing wind.

Finally bringing her senses back to her lively surroundings, Rin lifts her head from the white sheet and to the group of people whom she had grown to care despite holding a forced bond akin to a curse in their prior years. It has been more or less a year since they were broken free into living their own independent lives and true to that, almost everyone had parted ways to pursue their dreams and desire of their will, leaving behind a dark shell of memories that she hoped to be able to ease the dull pain that she could still recall all too clearly. _Unforgiving_ happens to be the sole word that she could fit into her true feelings since then and like all of her other weaknesses, this matter seems to conquer her mind above all others. Time truly heals all known physical wounds, though the scenarios that were carved at the back of her mind – like her naturally stubborn self – refuses to settle down.

Their laughter has once again managed to tug her attention away from her lingering thoughts and she finds herself sighing in a sense of relief at the well-being of those she could not imagined herself to care about almost an entire lifetime before. True, she may have been selfish for a good portion of her life while hanging onto a desperate attempt of breaking the curse to free the sole person that she cares. But the quiet healing process that comes after their broken _bond_ is when her mind has finally sharpened into another path of certainty as she discovers the parts in her heart that has learned to accept the people around her. Trust, has in fact, renewed its definition in her life and strangely, Rin does nothing to retreat from such acceptance. Which is only evident through her participation in the organised gathering activities between those whom share her family name and along with their loved ones.

_‘Who knew that meeting one person could truly change everyone’s lives and what more of making each of them better?’_

As if hearing those heavy thoughts, Tohru glances towards her while still engaged in a heated conversation with her two best friends and the other Sohma members and waves cheerily at Rin. Sparing her a small smile and a nod, Rin turns back to her unfinished drawing and adds a few more lines to her sketch. Due to her typical habit of needing personal space to express her ideas, Rin traded her seat to one that is further away from the main action shortly after their arrival at the beach house. As much as she has come into terms with treasuring these people, she still finds it troubling to keep up with conversations that are out of her bounds of interests without appearing detached from the others. Though what relieves her throughout this awkward ordeal would be the understanding nature that passes between them in realising her quieted preference at times.

It does not take her long to finally have her gaze directed towards another group near the shore where Haru and Momiji are interacting with their classmates. With that being said, this year’s summer holiday is planned in a manner where both family and close friends could spend their time relaxing and bonding with one another during the seasonal break. And since Haru and Momiji are in their final high school years, it is only natural to have them around their friends before parting ways for future studies and careers. Rin sighs to herself a little as her mind comes up with another train of thoughts. She could not relate much to the importance of these moments for she had always been distracted with more pressing matters in life around her time, where some costed her sanity while others took on the gamble of her own survival. It was a rather dark phase to her, but then again, there were not much of happier ones to compensate to those from before as well.

Suddenly facing a swarm of related memories, Rin closes her eyes briefly before turning her gaze forward and into the crashing waves. Everyone seems to be settling well with themselves despite the dark clouds of nightmares that are bound to them. A thought similar to her past query resurfaces in her head amidst all others and she cannot help but feeling left out in solitude due to the fast-moving time. It truly appears as if everyone has placed everything far behind them, all except for herself, whom is still pondering over the details that affected her life in a way or another.

Rin steals another glance towards the lively group and she witnesses genuine joy that seeps through each remark and laughter between themselves. Another turn to the other group, she catches Haru grinning with his friends out of what she presumed to be a joke that she could not decipher by herself. As much as she hates being abandoned in her own abyss of dark thoughts, Rin simply feels happy on behalf of them despite hardly experiencing feelings close to theirs.

_‘Am I destined to be alone until the very end? Is it truly alright for me to not receive or feel a similar happiness to those I aim to fight for?’_

_‘No.’_ Rin shuts away all those thoughts for once through her subconscious. She has gone too far from being controlled by these insecurities to simply dive back into them on a fine day like now and she would do anything to chase away all these thoughts by herself. It may have taken her some time to make sense of a mere fact, but she now understands that in order for her to stand up to those she loves, she would first need to gain control of her own life. Taking care of herself and these poisonous thoughts would always be her choice of offense against her darkened past self. Standing up slowly and yet steadily, she goes indoors to keep her sketchbook safe before discarding her shoes behind where others are still chatting.

Without raising questions from those who sees her sudden gesture, Rin speaks first. “I’m off for a run. I’ll be back before dinner time.” A flash of concern is seen from Yuki, whom suddenly perks his head up from his current task but before he could ask further, she dismisses him off with another statement of assurance. “And no, I’m _not_ running away from anything so there’s no need to be alerted.” Sharing the direction of sight, both pair of eyes dart over to where Haru is for the briefest of moments before Yuki nods along with Rin leaving the house.

Knowing the direction of her pessimistic thoughts all too well, Rin decides to face them without finding the need to involve anyone else into it, including Haru. For she figures that prolonged exposure of her stubborn mindset towards the others may cause exhaustion over time and she would not want to risk the peacefulness of those around her for such matter. If there is one thing that Rin has gained confidence upon since the past year, it would be to believe in herself and her abilities. She just refuses to allow her dark past to define the possibilities of her future or even the present. There are hardly any difficult dilemmas in the passing months, hence it puzzles her as to why everything seems to take another turn in her eyes once more.

Rin starts off with a steady walk a few metres from the shore, her feet creating temporary prints on the dry sand as she lets herself to be distracted by its warmth. She could not remember the last time she had spent time carelessly by the beach as she was always too unwell to even go through other simple pleasures altogether with the burden she chose to carry. The weak state of her health had contributed greatly to that factor as well, arising an awareness in herself to recover from her illnesses and become stronger in the coming days.

Gaining a faster pace to her speed, Rin calls out all the insecurities that occupy her mind and starts to rethink each in detail. It does not take her long to pinpoint the cause of the chain reaction; her drawing. She aims to draw a scene that inspires her and true to that, she ends up sketching the one that is displayed before her eyes today.

 _‘A perfect harmony existed from a broken bond, a contradiction of its own.’_ Was what written beneath the drawing, acting as a description to the still nonexistence title.

Expressing her vision in terms of drawings enables Rin to piece out the predictable actions owned by each of the person whom becomes the subject of her inspiration. Though something stops her short once she is halfway done. Above everyone, she cannot seem to picture herself alongside them no matter how hard she tries.

Rin’s pace changes to a jog forward as she scrutinises upon the main cause of her disrupted mind for the day. She sees happiness in each and every one of those close to her, even for Haru. Blinking away the words of her subconscious, she rephrases her words, _‘Especially Haru’s happiness.’_. The swift wind starts to temper her braid but she is nowhere near caring about her looks at the moment. _‘Wasn’t that all I had asked for? Why does it still feel as if it’s not sufficient?’_ Confusion washes over her features though she clears them away with a deep intake of fresh air.

With a single shake of her head, Rin readies herself for a full-speed sprint. Fisting her hands, she takes another deep breath and begins running. Her views eventually shift from clear objects to a blur of sight and that alone reassures her of still maintaining the possession of a trait she received from the curse. Her ears pick up the sound of rushed wind as the heavy thoughts begin to slip into the unknown, returning a refreshed thrill to her mind from the run. As much as it is ironic for her to admit out loud, she used to envy the freedom of wild horses whom roam freely in the expense of any given landscape without the fear of being pursued or hunted down. Deep down, there exists a similar need to her prior spirit animal while she deals with the blinded desperation of breaking free from the blood chain of her loved ones.

But as fast as the said thought came, it leaves right away when she begins to trail down that path of freedom. There is always a price to pay for one’s desire. If such a path truly exists and she is to choose it, there would be nothing but the result of an eternal loneliness. As Rin had concluded way back then, it would be fine if she received nothing in return of securing the safety of the people she cared with the entirety of her heart. Though when she thinks about the same matter all over again, sadness invades herself almost immediately.

_‘Would it be selfish to actually wish myself to be a part of the said happiness?’_

With adrenaline now substituting the wind in her ears, Rin comes to a short stop to finally catch her breath. Despite having these accumulated thoughts in her mind, she does feel relieved with the fact that the long run succeeds in reenergising her spirit in an unfathomable way. Perhaps, she could add running into her routine whenever she faces a similar dilemma.

 _‘Am I going to keep on running away from something I can’t face in the future?’_ Comes her bitter thoughts and she closes her eyes to tame down her emotions.

Rin had not managed to jump into nor run from the series of possibilities that came after when a familiar voice shuts all those thoughts away with a rather casual approach, something _he_ always does in their meetings. Even stranger when she comes to notice that she truly misses the simple exchange of words and kindness in the past. Or at times, even the person himself.

_Haru._


	2. Back

**_Running -_ _Back_ ** _(Haru-centric)_

_“Walk where one is able to walk alone. But if you can’t, let me carry you.”_

* * *

_Rin._

Despite being occupied by the random talks and thoughts among his friends by the sound of the crashing waves, he would always find his attention directed towards the beach house. It does not take him long to search for her as his eyes comes to a distanced stare at a specific corner near the front where she has been busy drawing. Usually, she would be quick to identify a stare from those around her though today seems to be a little different based on her slightly distracted nature. His next observation catches her watching the sea absentmindedly and right at that moment, he cannot help but wishing to be right beside her to talk about whatever that seems to be bothering her.

The moment Haru decides to leave his group of friends and make his way to spend the rest of the late afternoon with Rin, he fails to spot her from where he had seen her earlier. Confusion strikes him at first as he lazily scans around in the hopes of catching a glimpse of her, for he has a feeling where she had left the house on her own and judging by the lack of her belongings near where she sat, it is unlikely to be temporary. Past incidences of her disappearance were nothing but a wake-up call for him to eye for a greater detail of his surroundings instead of taking any reasonable explanations for granted. Though things may have shifted into a better light now, he cannot seem to tame the worry that perks in his heart.

Rin’s health may act as a limit to whatever goals she had set in mind but the strong determination that resides in her personality becomes the true driver to her steadfast action. That trait alone is both admirable and dangerous to herself for she has been unblinkingly willing to trade her all for a cause she finds worth the sacrifice. Through her past ordeals, Haru seems to ponder if he is capable of such thing if the situations are reversed. He may have been too ignorant in possessing a heart as selfless as hers but he is not about to leave it all out just yet. All he needs to do is to continue forward and pursue her.

Just as his thought comes to an end, his eyes darts towards to the other side of the beach house over a minimal movement from the distance. True to his instincts, Rin is seen closing the door behind her before proceeding her steps along the shore. He knows well of her speedy escape once she has settled on running away from those who are after her through countless of previous experiences and Haru figures that if he takes his time in asking the others about it, he would lose sight of her in an instant. Coming to an ultimate decision, he excuses himself from his friends before pacing towards her direction, though catching up proves to be harder in each passing time as she increases her speed into a full-fledged run within minutes. Noting the stoic expression of hers from before, Haru discards the need to acknowledge her by calling her name amidst their run and eventually just go with following her until she comes to a breathless stop.

“I see that you still have the speed.” He finally speaks and expectedly, his presence alarms her. This simply proves his prior guess to be right but he would not bombard her with pressing questions despite knowing the fact that she is bothered by something she may refuse to share.

“How, when… Did you follow me all the way here?” Rin’s brows furrow in surprise, her eyes then leave his to observe the direction of the beach house, presumably calculating the distance they had achieved through the lengthy run.

Haru doubles himself for a while in catching his breath before standing straight up again. Running is not something uncommon when it comes to Rin since they were children and so far, there is no known person whom manages to catch up to her speed. But he is not about to let that record to be undefeatable any longer for he shows progress just by pursuing her when she pushed herself in top pace.

“I was about to return to the house to ask you for a walk down the beach when I saw you walking away,” he ponders a while before continuing, “and then running in full-speed.”

Rin’s lips tug into a grin immediately at his truthful remark, something she does unconsciously often that always works its wonders in attracting his attention. “You could’ve called out. Or did you?”

“No, because you seemed to be in your full focus forward.” Haru casts a glance to their surroundings before landing his eyes directly at Rin, whom is equally unknown to the former to have casually causing her heart to race due to the unmoving stare. “Is everything alright?”

Rin blinks away to break their eye-contact in exchange of the sea view as her smile reduces a little. “Yeah, everything is _perfect_.”

In a synchronous motion, the two trails down the shore side by side in a relaxing pace. Haru chooses to be silent from any sort of replies, opting to allow Rin the time to recollect her words without rushing out an answer from her ponders as his eyes trained on her face in concern. If there is something that could be matched between their personalities, it would be their stubbornness at times. Though when it comes to Rin, Haru is capable of tolerating hers just as much as she could reach an understanding to his. Hence sometimes, a peaceful silence is all they need to complement one another’s dominant mindset. But then again, they are nothing but the exceptions to all defences they pose towards others in their lives.

“Everyone is adjusting well to their lives _after_ , and I’m just glad for that.” Rin settles on a vague remark.

“We are doing fine too, don’t you think?” Haru moves a miniscule closer to Rin though it seems that the latter is still too deep in her own thoughts as seen through her maintained self-crossed arms.

Rin sighs as her face shifts into one that reflects her true feelings; a troubled frown. “I’m not sure about myself, in all honesty.”

“And why would you think that way?” Haru asks patiently in an attempt of pinpointing the source of her worry without jumping into a false conclusion.

“I can’t see myself in the _picture_. Where everything appears to be just right to the eyes, I can’t seem to find myself in there. It almost feels like,” Rin trails for a while.

Her words are then quickly interjected by Haru. “If you’re saying anything along the lines of _‘I don’t fit here’_ , I’m going to have to _carry_ you back and talk you out of this nonsense right away.”

Rin narrows her eyes at Haru as their pace comes to a stop. “Just the _‘talk’_ part would be sufficient.” Catching the playful smirk from Haru over the literality of his words and actions, she rolls her eyes with a similar air as her lips threaten to break into a smile despite her demand. “Really.”

From the way back when he needed someone to trust his thoughts into, Rin had always been there to listen in the midst of their routine walks and though his daily tales may prove to be boresome at times, they never stood a chance in breaking their bond. It had always been a random exchange of views on life while temporarily escaping the cruel reality that threatened their freedom ever since they were born. Eventually, everything came to a triggering point in his mind where she became too important to walk away from his life whenever the time arrived, where the coming days would never be as comfortingly the same _without_ her presence. And it did not take his naïve heart long enough to realise that he had fallen deep for her all along.

Shaking himself out of the short reverie, Haru reaches out for her now untangled hand and gives it a gentle squeeze before securing their fingers together. Though that action is done countless of times and has come to a natural gesture between the two, it never fails to flatter themselves with a common knowledge of having one another right by their side at the moment. Rin turns towards Haru for a while as they continue their walk along the shore, still waiting for the other to speak.

“First things first, what induces such a thought from you?” Haru starts but once he meets silence from Rin’s part, he continues with a knowing smile. “Does it have to do with your drawing?”

A rather random guess but judging by Rin’s bewildered reaction that later shifts into suspicion, he hits the mark. “And you speak as if you’ve been going through them not too long ago.”

Haru shakes his head. “It’s what you’re so caught up with lately it seems, but what about it?”

Rin sighs lowly before continuing. “I am able to interpret everyone’s happiness from my surroundings and yet, I feel as if I’m bearing something _different_ from them.”

“And that is?”

“Hatred.” Rin confesses sheepishly, the hold in her hand loosens in expectance of Haru’s release after hearing her words. Suffocated by the need to anticipate a chained event, she chooses to continue, nonetheless. “Perhaps at this point, it makes sense that everyone has forgotten about their dark past. While I was, _am_ , still here pondering about it from time to time. It feels impossible for me to completely allow such things to be gone from my memories, Haru. With these thoughts, I can’t seem to fit into the forgiving nature of others around me, including _you_ , and I hate it.”

Hearing it all causes Haru to pull their walks to a stop where he then turns himself to face Rin, whom finds it hard to contain his serious stare after the confession. “Forgiving and forgetting are two different things, Rin. And while everyone has come to an acceptance of forgiving the deed from their past, I am positive that none of them forgets about it. But if that is the case, I know I can’t do the same. All there is left to do now is to move forward and seize the happiness for our future’s sake, nothing from the past ever matters anymore.” Reaching out another hand to caress the side of Rin’s face, Haru flashes her a reassuring smile. “You’re doing better than you give yourself credit for and I’m proud of you.”

Her eyes are instantly welled up with unshed tears through the built-up frustration and recent realisation. Though before she could wipe it away, despite now openly smiling through the clash of emotions she is experiencing, Haru beats her to it while maintaining a caring stare right at her.

Blushing at the gesture as well as his words, Rin pushes Haru’s arms off lightly. “I think I got it.”

But since they are already diving into this matter, Haru is nowhere near escaping into a new topic with Rin in that instance. “You’ve been smiling a lot more in the public.” Of course Rin would once again protest him but Haru’s unmoving gaze silences her almost immediately. “And that only happens when _you_ are happy. Your feelings are no stranger than any of them, especially mine. It’s normal for you to fail to see yourself in the picture because your feelings are well directed and received by those beside you. In fact, you affect your circle just as much as they reflect their worth to you. So really Rin, your worry was unnecessary since the start.”

Gaining the strength to speak after Haru’s encouraging words, Rin comments. “One can’t be too sure of understanding another’s way of thinking.”

“I have always been blunt to the truth and my words are nothing but plain reality, Rin.” As if gaining a victory over her speechlessness, Haru directs a smirk at Rin.

“It’s getting late and I think we should head back.” She hastily shifts the lingering topic as they change their direction to the opposite side of the beach and towards the house. “Thank you for the talk, Haru.” She says after a few moments of silence.

Haru pulls them to a stop once again to direct his attention on Rin. “No, thank _you_ for sharing your thoughts, Rin. I’m just glad that you still trust me with your views even after all these years.”

“Have I ever not done so?” She teases, both of them recalling the time when she refused to break her dilemma to anyone including him while in a desperate search of a way to break the curse.

Unable to find a reply to her words and the sense of a perfect timing for the act, Haru leans forward and plants a kiss on Rin’s forehead. Maybe gaining a better advantage from his height over hers has not been a false belief after all. Grinning over her bright face, Haru eventually pulls her into a tight side embrace with Rin looping her arm over his waist in return as they continue the rest of their journey back.

“Next time, if you feel like running away from an irritating thought, just count me in instead of leaving me behind.” Haru pauses and gives her shoulder a squeeze amidst their embrace out of assurance. “Because I will be able to catch up to you no matter what.”

As if hearing Rin’s prior doubt on her constant escape from an undesirable reality, Haru’s answer becomes an emphasis on facing all troubles _together._ For regardless of how far she chooses to run away someday, there is always a reason for her to run back to where she truly belongs to because he will always be there for her throughout everything.

The two exchange stares as Rin nods at Haru’s words before trailing down the shore, accompanied by the occasional sounds of the crashing waves beneath the setting summer sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> A little contribution to the fandom for this pairing since I find it to be lacking of stories or random moments centering about these two. Also, this acts as a form of relief from the recent revelations of Rin's past for the anime as well as inspired by the author's 'Thank you for watching art' twitter post for episode 18 in jump starting my attempt for this story. Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading! ❤️
> 
> P.S.: Been following Fruits Basket since it was first animated (in 2001) and am grateful of the new reboot that will take on the full coverage of the entire story from the manga this time around. With that being said, I've been shipping HaruRin (or also known as HatSuzu) since discovering it from the manga plot line and the love for them has never ceased. ❤️


End file.
